Close Quarters
by Lizzy Turner
Summary: Sam and Callen are in deep water. Literally and figuratively. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES.


**SUBMARINE**

Their space, although not that small, is feeling smaller by the minute.

"G, you know I don't do well in small places."

"I wasn't aware of that until a few minutes ago."

"Well, now you know." Sam wipes his sweaty brow and looks around their current surroundings. "We could charge the door and shoot anything on the other side."

Callen gets up from his spot and quietly tries the door. He whispers, "It won't budge, besides they might be ready for that."

"We could call for help and maybe they'd come in to see what's the matter."

"I highly doubt that."

Sam gets up from his sitting position and starts looking around at the walls of the sub. "Maybe there's an exit hatch somewhere around here."

Callen walks over and joins Sam in the futile search. Finally he turns to Sam, "I don't think there's an escape hatch in this room."

Sam talks through his controlled panic, "That's unacceptable G, there's got to be something we can do."

"You're right." Callen puts his hand on Sam's shoulder, "Take it easy big guy."

Sam nods and takes a deep breath. He starts looking at the materials loaded around the room. He turns to Callen with an incredulous expression.

"What?"

Sam looks at the ammonium nitrate stacked along the walls from floor to ceiling. "We have the makings for a bomb."

"We already know that."

"We do, but all the components are right in this room."

Callen sounds hopeful, "This is right up your alley, Sam."

Sam waves his arms at the bomb materials, "Everything one might need to blow a hole in the side of something floating in the water is right here."

Callen looks at Sam, "Can you disarm it?"

Sam takes his time looking at all the bomb pieces and follows the wires from all the components.

Callen, looking and sounding optimistic, "Well, Sam?"

"Yes, yes I can." He turns to look at Callen, "If there's enough time."

Callen's smile falls, "Well, you better get moving."

**OPS**

Deeks and Kensi rush into the OSP and meet Eric coming down the stairs from ops. "Good, you're here."

Kensi, "Any news, Eric?"

Eric turns around on the stairs and heads back to ops. Deeks and Kensi on his heels. "No . . . still no sign of them. The harbor master, Navy, and coast guard are transecting the area where the sub was last, but nothing yet."

Deeks asks, "Do we have any idea of the target?"

Eric walks throught the double doors into the ops center, "We didn't know there was a submarine until Sam sent us a picture."

Nell sitting at her computer overhears Eric, "But we're looking into all possible targets within a 100 mile radius."

Kensi, "Is DEA involved with this?"

Eric sits down at his console, "Talia is going to let us know when she has some information. So far there's none."

Kensi shakes her head at no one in particular. She turns to her partner, "Deeks?"

Deeks reaches into his pocket for his cell, "I'll call her." He goes off to call Talia. Kensi watches as he leaves.

Nell interrupts her thoughts, "Eric and I will continue looking for high value targets in the area that the submarine went missing."

Kensi, still looking in the direction that Deeks went, nods. She turns to Nell, "Let me know the moment you have anything. I'll be downstairs."

Nell, "Will do."

**BULL PEN**

Deeks comes back from talking with Talia, "She says they've got a helicopter up looking for any signs of the submarine."

Kensi nods her head, "Let's go back to the dock where the sub was and see if we can find anything that might help us determine what or where their target is."

"Talia is already there, but that's a good idea, beats sitting around here waiting for news."

**SUBMARINE**

Sam pulls the last detonator, "That was easier than I thought."

"Well, they probably weren't thinking they'd have uninvited guests that could disarm their torpedo."

Sam chuckles. "We've stopped it from blowing up . . . but it will still cause damage if they run into something." He pauses, "It will cause damage to the sub as well."

"That wouldn't be good. For us I mean."

"No, it wouldn't."

"So we've got to stop this sub."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

"We have to get to the control panel."

"Okay."

"The control panel is in the control room."

"Good one."

"The control room is on the other side of that hatch door."

"That door is locked from the other side."

"How are we going to get into the control room?"

Callen walks over to the hatch door and runs his hands over the outer edges and the hatch door wheel, "We need to get through this door."

"You tried it earlier, it didn't budge." Sam looks around the room at the items that are in it, and smiles "We have all we need to get through that door."

Callen understanding him, "What do you want me to do?"

**DOCK**

Deeks walks into the room the terrorists were using, "Any luck, Talia."

Talia stops looking through the mound of papers on the work table and shakes her head, "Nothing much. A few maps with pins, but nothing definite. Anything from your tech guys?"

Kensi puts her gloves on and starts looking through the items on the table, "Luckily not too many high value targets around this weekend."

Deeks looks at the charts on the wall, "The USS Anchorage is docked in port to celebrate Navy Days and the Tall Ships are here as well."

Talia, "I've already asked the pilot to concentrate her search around those areas, but nothing."

Kensi, "The chopper might be a waste of time, that sub can submerge pretty deep. Too deep to spot."

Talia, "Maybe so, but I'm not taking any chances. I want to find that sub before they blow a hole into the side of something and cause mass casualties."

Kensi, "We need to find the sub and stop it."

Deeks,"Yeah, but stop it how?"

Talia shrugs her shoulders, "Blow it up."

Kensi surprised, "We can't blow it up. Callen and Sam are on it."

Talia, "Look, I know they're your friends."

Kensi, "They're more than friends, they're family."

Talia isn't swayed, "If we have to, we'll eliminate the threat before the terrorists get a chance to run it into something."

The tension in the room is stifling. Neither one is willing to back down. Deeks, visibly uncomfortable, watches the sparring between the women as though he's watching a tennis match, his head turning from one to the other as they speak.

Kensi's brow furrows, "You would actually -"

Talia nods, "Blow it up before it gets to its final destination."

Kensi raises her voice, "We are NOT going to blow up Callen and Sam."

"I don't want to, but . . ." Talia lets her voice trail off. "And quite frankly this isn't your call."

Kensi starts moving in Talia's direction. Deeks takes her by the elbow, "You know what, I think we should split up and go to the ships," Kensi allows Deeks to lead her out of the makeshift office, "maybe we'll see something. Talia why don't you go and check out the Tall Ships. Kensi and I will go visit the USS Anchorage."

Talia smiles and shouts, "Keep in touch."

**SUBMARINE**

"Okay, G, you ready?"

"Whenever you are."

Sam puts the small improvised bombs in the proper places on the hatch door. He's wired them so that they go off at the same time. "We'll only get one chance at this. You ready with the smoke bombs?"

Callen holds up the smoke bombs. "You sure about these?"

"They should detonate when they hit the ground."

Callen gets behind a small crate that's in the farthest corner of the room. "Should detonate?"

"This is all a crap shoot, G. I'm working with materials that I've cobbled together."

"Thanks for the reassurance."

"You're welcome. Now, are you ready?"

"Ready."

Sam flicks the delay switch for the bombs and follows Callen for cover. A few seconds later there are three small consecutive explosions. Callen immediately moves toward the door, pushes what's left of the door out of the way, and throws out two smoke bombs.

**PORT**

Kensi and Deeks arrive at the port. There are tons of people there waiting to board the USS Anchorage.

The ship has been moored at sea instead of docked due to its deep hull. Hoards of anxious, excited tourists wait in line to embark on the ferry that departs from the dock every 15 minutes.

Nell over their earwigs, "Okay guys, you've been cleared to enter the USS Anchorage without going through security."

"That was fast. How did you manage that?"

"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count."

Kensi and Deeks simultaneously, "Hetty."

Nell gives a low chuckle in response, then, "Find Lieutenant Christopher Weller. He'll be near the first security gate. He'll give you clearance and transportation out to the ship."

"Thanks, Nell."

"Talia? Talia?"

"Go ahead."

"Same thing goes for you at the Tall Ships. You're looking for Ms. Dayle Hutchins to give you clearance. She is at the Tall Ships security gate."

"Thanks, Nell."

"Yep." Then speaking to all three, "Good luck, guys. We'll let you know if we hear from Sam and Callen."

**SUBMARINE**

The terrorists, startled by the blast and then immediately disoriented by the black smoke given off by the smoke bombs gives the agents the precious seconds they need to assess the situation. Three terrorists, one is at the controls the other two are aft. Callen draws his weapon, and crawling under the smoke, sees and fires at the terrorists that are at the back of the sub, eliminating both threats. The gunman at the helm, unable to see through the black smoke, fires in the direction of Callen's gun shots. Callen quickly dives for cover, bullets flying everywhere. One thought crosses his mind, is the sub bullet proof?

**PORT**

Talia is on one of the Tall Ships admiring the craftsmanship, but also taking long looks over the side to see if she sees anything that might remotely look like a submarine. It seems foolish now to be looking for a sub when on land, but it was better to go to where the threat was rather than to stay at the dock looking through meaningless papers.

Suddenly she hears over her earwig from the copter pilot, "Agent del Campo we see the sub."

"Where?"

"Heading towards the USS Anchorage. Traveling at approximately 35 knots. Estimated time of impact 5 minutes."

Kensi and Deeks hear Talia and the copter pilot communicating over their earwigs. Kensi interrupts, "What direction?"

"It's coming from the south." Deeks and Kensi hurry over to the railing of the ship and look out to the south seeing if they can see any sign of the sub.

**SUBMARINE**

Callen's question is quickly answered when water starts spraying out of a bullet hole two feet above him covering him with a light mist. "Sam?!"

He double taps the pilot. "Right behind you, G."

They both remain low, below the smoke of the smoke bombs, and look through the rest of the sub.

Callen comes back to the control room and tucks his gun away, "Clear."

"Clear." Sam moves to the helm, places his gun on the instrument panel, finds the exhaust fan switch, and clears the submarine of smoke.

Callen jesters over to the small bullet hole now spraying a small stream of water into the submarine. "Should we be worried?"

Sam looks at him incredulously, "We'll hit something before we have to worry about that trickle."

"It's a little more than a trickle, but I'll go along with it." Callen moves over to the communication station, puts on the headphones, and begins trying to make contact with someone.

**PORT**

The helicopter is hovering over the area. "The sub is just a few minutes out. What do you want us to do Agent del Campo?"

"Fire when you have a shot."

"No!" Kensi looks over at Deeks pleading silently.

"Talia, don't!"

"Deeks, we have to stop that sub! If we don't hundreds of people will die including Callen and Sam. Either way they're dead."

Deeks looks over at Kensi feeling helpless. Silently Deeks points out to the water about 300 feet out and sees a dark shadow.

The gunner watching the submarine through his scope, "It's near a few sailboats I'll wait until it clears."

"Don't wait too long."

"Roger that."

**OPS**

Hetty quietly enters ops. She looks over at the large screen and sees several live feeds from around the USS Anchorage and the Tall Ships. "Any news?"

Eric is monitoring various signals. He's just about to answer her when he hears a faint sound through his earwig. He puts a finger on his earwig and with his other hand signals her to wait a second.

"Mayday."

He looks at Hetty and quickly nods his head.

"Mayday, mayday, Eric . . . Nell . . . . come in. Mayday, mayday, Eric . . . Nell . . . . come in."

Eric zeros in on the signal and within seconds hears Callen. "Mayday, mayday."

Excitedly Eric says, "Callen we hear you loud and clear."

"The sub is secure, but we don't know the target and we're just figuring out how to steer it."

"The target is the USS Anchorage and you're almost there."

"Roger that, Eric."

"Talia's planning on blowing you out of the water so you better think of something fast."

Sam looking over the controls, "Tell her to hold off Eric."

"You don't have much time, Sam."

Sam scans the screens and finds what he's looking for, "I've got a plan." He presses the appropriate buttons.

Callen to ops, "We disabled the bomb." Sam looks over at Callen, "Okay, Sam disabled the bomb."

"Talia, Eric. The sub is secure. Sam disabled the bomb. Don't fire."

"It's still coming at the ship. Fire gunny when you have a good shot."

"Roger that." He finds his target, tracks it, and sets his instruments to the sub's depth, speed, and distance.

Kensi, "Wait, wait it's changing direction!"

The pilot hovering over the intended target, "It doesn't have enough room to stop or turn out of the way before hitting the USS Anchorage."

Talia firmly commands, "Fire gunny!" Just as he fires, his weapon signals a change in the sub's coordinates.

Deeks and Kensi watch helplessly as the missile enters the water, blows up, and a geyser of water shoots up to the sky.

After a moment of hesitation the USS Anchorage immediately disrupts in chaos. People are yelling, screaming, and running. The ship's loud speaker comes on and repeats several times, "This is the captain, please remain calm while we assess the situation." The throng of people on the ship, although not completely calm, settle down into a controlled panic.

Kensi and Deeks continue to stand at the railing looking out at where the missile went and thinking the unthinkable. Kensi turns to Deeks and slowly shakes her head thinking this can't be. Deeks, thinking the same thing, nods his head slowly in confirmation of her thoughts.

Slowly Kensi regains her composure, but cannot conceal the catch in her throat, "Talia! They were turning."

Eric and Nell, in ops, sit stunned by the latest developments.

Talia knowing the gravity of what she did softly says, "But not fast enough. They would have hit the ship."

The pilot observing the aftermath, "The sub is still moving!"

Deeks and Kensi look back out at the water.

The gunner reads his weapon's instruments, "They've changed their depth."

Eric, "Callen, are you there?"

Sam and Callen having regained their footing after experiencing shock waves from the missile's detonation come back on line. "We're here."

Eric breathes a huge sigh of relief, "Are you sinking?"

"No, we're diving."

Nell, "Diving?"

"No time to stop or go around so we're going under."

"Under?

"Under the ship."

Kensi and Deeks spot the dark shadow moving in their direction.

"Mr. Deeks, Agent Blye, I suggest you move to another part of the ship. If they hit the hull even though they've disabled the bomb there will still be some damage."

Neither Kensi nor Deeks make a move to leave the railing. Deeks looks directly at Kensi and shakes his head, "They'll make it Hetty."

Talia to the gunner, "Can you take another shot?"

The gunner quickly looks at the distance between the sub and the ship, "No time."

Sam watches the depth monitor on the sub. "I hope we get deep enough, G."

Eric relays the count down from the pilot to Sam and Callen, "Impact in 5 . . . 4

Callen solemnly, "It's been fun working with you, big guy." Sam and Callen brace for the impact.

Kensi and Deeks lean over the edge of the railing watching the sub all the way.

"3 . . . 2 . . . 1" Nothing.

Nell listens closely for Callen and Sam, "You guys still there?"

Sam leans back on the console, "We're still here."

Deeks and Kensi run to the other side of the ship. As they get there they see what looks to be a shadow coming out from under the ship. Ecstatically Kensi yells, "They made it!"

Callen looks over at Sam, "Now we need to stop this thing."

Sam looks over the instrument panel again, "Get to the surface, and get the hell out of here."

Callen snickers, "Getting a little claustrophobic are we?"

Sam looks around uncomfortably, "You could say that."


End file.
